EB Games Expo 2016 is here!

The EB Games Expo 2016 is on this weekend (Sep 30 – Oct 2) at the Sydney Showground, and the Checkpoint team will be there to get their hands on all the exclusive content. Now in its fifth year, the EB Games Expo has established itself as one of the bigger game industry trade shows here in Australia, giving public and media alike a first chance glimpse at upcoming titles, unreleased content and to compete in their eSports Alley and Just ‘Cos Cosplay Comp. Those of you headed to the expo, be sure to keep an eye out for Luke, Archer, Meagan and Jakob to say Hi to the Checkpoint team (or if you’re too cool for that, tweet us!). And for those who can’t make it, we’ll have all the exclusive coverage!

At its core, the EB Expo is the chance to play all the big upcoming titles, even if the lines are as long as our anticipation. The full lineup of playable titles is below, and with a list this long, prioritising is essential.

For me the top of that list has to be Dishonored 2. The original Dishonored is one of my favourite games from the last 5 years, and the sequel is looking to maintain that title. Those waiting with bated breath to play Zelda: Breath of the Wild will have to settle for watching the demo, as access will only be to the competition winners.

Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare is also sure to draw a crowd, if not purely from die-hard fans of the massive FPS franchise, it also threatens to catch the eye of some sci-fi and fantasy fans due to its space age setting and appearances from Kit Harington in the E3 trailer.

In terms of brand new franchises, it seems everyone is sharpening their blades in anticipation For Honor, where players will engage in melee combat between Vikings, Knights and Samurai in a fast paced Battle Royale; and after watching game play footage at E3, I can’t be the only one who wants to take out a cybernetic monster with a bow and arrow in Horizon: Zero Dawn.

Of course how we play games can be as important as what we play, so this will also be a great opportunity to check out the latest in gaming peripherals and hardware.  As a massive Razer fan I’ll be checking out the latest they have to offer, but with plenty of competition in the peripherals space these days, I’m just as excited to see what competing companies have to tempt those of us looking to up our gaming-game. The PlayStation Booth, besides being the go to location for all PlayStation exclusive titles, is where we’ll be checking out the latest in PS VR developments. With PlayStation VR launching October 13, now is the chance to really check see what the technology can do on release.

Lets face it, when it comes to pop culture expos, it’s not always what you see, but who you see. I don’t mean the Keynote Presentation by Head of Xbox, Phil Spencer (although that’s also very cool) but cosplay! The controversial Ultimate Cosplay Pass may no longer be on offer, but hopefully none of that will dampen the amazing turn out of cosplayers across the weekend event. The Just ‘Cos Cosplay competition is back for another year for groups and solo stars, and where expos like Supanova and Comic Con host a cast of anime and diverse characters I don’t always recognise, I’m hoping that EB Expo, even more than PAX, will be video game cosplay ground zero.

Those looking to prove the mettle with the gaming elite, or perhaps fond of public humiliation will be headed to eSport Alley, to go head to head with other players in NBA2K16, Forza 6, MarioKart and Super Smash Bros. on the Wii, as well as dancing off on Just Dance 2016 (always good viewing when the cosplayers get up there) and where I may be swayed to pick up a controller, competitive Rocket League on the PS4. Or, for those who prefer spectator mode, the eSport Arena will be broadcasting tournament coverage of Counter Strike: Global Offensive and Super Smash Bros Melee & Wii U throughout the weekend, with the top players in Australia and New Zealand battling it out for thousands in prize money.

The team from Good Game are back with Good Game Unplugged 10^th Year Anniversary show, highlighting not just the Good Games but also the bad over the past ten years of the ABC program. Sessions will be held on the Saturday and Sunday, but are not included in the standard ticket price, and are likely to go quick. The Good Game team will be in the free Meet & Greet area throughout the weekend though, you know, if the Checkpoint team isn’t minor-Australian-gaming-media celebrity enough for you.

The Mountain Dew VeloDrone promises their own brand of drone-meets-laser-tag action, and the Minecraft Block covering, you guessed it, all things Minecraft, the list of attractions goes on and on. For the full schedule and list of attractions, be sure to check out the EB Game Expo 2016 website before heading to the event.

Hope to see some of you at the expo! Don’t miss our EB Games Expo recap show on Saturday October 8^th and tune in to Joy 94.9 FM in Melbourne and online at joy.org.au 3pm every Saturday (AEST) for all the latest gaming news and reviews on Checkpoint.